What the hell took you so long?
by Nil1875
Summary: A slightly different take on what happened when 114 was hit by a bus. Multi-chapter story, further away from the show as it goes. This is a Rabbit/Nancy story. T for some swearing, and later on more adult themes. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Hi! I love this show, a lot, and this is my first fic for it. Actually, it may be the first fic, -AT ALL- for the show, so, I hope people enjoy it. I know it starts off slow and short, and it pretty much the same as episode 6, but there are some notable differences to set the scene of a new relationship.

Disclaimers apply, I don't own anything, though if I did, I wouldn't have let NBC go and ax it.

Please read and review! Thank you!

* * *

"Get out of the way! Nance! Nancy, I'm here! Don't worry, I'm here for you!"

"Rabbit, what the hell took you so long?" Nancy shouted as she grasped Rabbit's hand tightly.

"Next time you go head to head with a bus, do it somewhere where I can land huh?" Rabbit grinned. "Stats!" he directed at the EMT on the other side of the rig.

She rattled off Nancy's stats rapidly as Rabbit felt her ribs, checking for breaks.

"Rabbit, why does it hurt so much?" Nancy was sobbing.

"You'll be fine Nance, just hang on. We'll get you out of here."

Rabbit bit his lip as he continued with his examination, barking orders to the other EMT.

"Rabbit! What's wrong with me?" Nancy cried when he touched her stomach.

Rabbit's eyebrows furrowed, and he pulled up her shirt. "Shit, Nance, you're bleeding. Come on guys, get her out of here!" he yelled at the firefighters.

"Give us a couple minutes Rabbit!"

"She doesn't have a couple of minutes!" Rabbit shouted. He grabbed a coat and threw it over Nancy. "Stay with me baby," he whispered before he kicked out the window and lifted her out onto a backboard.

"Lets go!" he shouted as soon as they had her loaded onto the chopper.

"Rabbit. Rabbit!"

"Yeah Nance, I'm here!"

Nancy reached out and gripped his wrist. Rabbit glanced at her hand, then up at her face.

"Stop. Don't knock me out. Please."

Rabbit shook his head. "Nancy, you're in too much pain. I've got to!"

Nancy shook her head and pulled his hand away from the IV. "Don't. Please. I can't, I can't die without telling you."

"Nance, you're not going to die! Listen to me, you'll be just fine, we'll get you to the hospital, and you'll be ok, you hear me!?"

"Reuben."

That stopped him. His eyes flashed to hers, and they locked there.

"I never told you this, not after the crash. Not after Terry, and Rotor." She coughed and cried out in pain as she gripped his hand.

"Nance, come on, don't do this. You're not gonna die," Rabbit shook his head.

"I'm sorry I never came to see you. I'm sorry, that I wasn't there for you, when you needed me, I'm so, so sorry," she sobbed.

Rabbit just looked at her, and saw the tears spilling down her cheeks, and couldn't think of anything else other than what he'd do if he lost this woman laying before him. She was all he had left.

"Nancy, I'm gonna knock you out now, and I swear, I'll be right there when you wake up in that hospital bed later."

"Damnit Rabbit, don't…please don't." Her voice was already fading as the drugs overtook her. "I love you."

Rabbit's heart wrenched. "Damn."


	2. Chapter 2

Welcome to chapter 2! This is a little longer than the last one, and shows the first of a few flashbacks we're going to see, again with some differences to what happened on the show. Hope everyone enjoys, and thanks to all the reviews and favorites already!

Disclaimers apply, I don't own anything, though if I did, I wouldn't have let NBC go and ax it.

Please read and review! Thank you!

* * *

"Rabbit?" Dr. Joe walked into the break room rubbing his tired and cramping hands. "Anyone seen Rabbit?" he asked. A few people were sitting around, all looking sobered by the events of that day.

"He's on the roof."

Joe turned around and saw Marisa leaning against the door to the stairs. He nodded to her as he passed, heading for the helicopter pad on the Hospital roof.

"She gonna be ok Doc?" Marisa asked before the door closed.

"She'll be fine," he smiled.

He looked around for Rabbit when he got to the roof. He saw the chopper sitting off to the side of the pad, leaving room for Angel Rescue 1 to land if it needed to. The chopper door was open, and Joe sighed, walking over to the door and looking in.

The chopper was still dirty, with empty bags and bloody gauze everywhere. Rabbit was curled up on the floor, his knees tucked under his chin and his eyes staring blankly ahead.

"Rabbit?"

There was silence from the medic, no acknowledgement that he'd heard at all.

"Hey, Rabbit!" Joe tried again.

"She told me she loved me. She said she was sorry, that she wasn't there after the crash. I'm the one that should have been sorry. I should have been there for her. She lost Terry, and she lost me. I shouldn't have been feeling sorry for myself, I should have been looking out for her."

"Rabbit, life's the way it is, you couldn't have done anything different, and you couldn't have prevented this," Joe said, gripping Rabbit's shoulder.

"Why are you up here doc? I don't deserve to know, if she's alive or dead."

"Rabbit, I've said a lot of things to you in the years I've known you, and this is the only thing I really want you to think about. You're an idiot. That girl loves you. So why are you sitting up here wallowing? You should be down in the recovery room, holding her hand, you lucky son of a bitch."

Rabbit's eyes snapped up and he sat up. "She's ok? She made it through the surgery?"

"She's fine Rabbit, she did great. Now get your ass down there!"

With a grin Rabbit nodded and hopped out of the chopper, running as fast as he could towards the stairs.

He pushed past doctors and interns and through the recovery room doors, looking for her blond hair.

There she was, laying on a bed, with the curtains nearly drawn closed around her. Nearly collapsing in relief he sank into the chair beside her, gripping her small hand in his.

"I'm here," he whispered. "Just like I promised. Now all you gotta do for me is wake up. Come on Nance, wake up. Don't do this to me. Please."

* * *

_  
Nancy shivered. It was cold outside Rabbit's house, waiting for him to open the door. It wasn't too far into September, but it was already getting chilly, and her thin jacket wasn't doing much to help her._

She broke the staring contest with her feet as the door finally opened.

"Hey," she said quietly as he came out and leaned against the porch railing.

"Hey."

"I can't sleep…"

Rabbit crossed his arms and sighed, looking up at the sky. "Yeah me either."

Nancy shifted a little from foot to foot, then walked past Rabbit and into the warmth of the house. He followed her silently and closed the door. She kicked off her shoes and dumped her bag on the couch, about to sit down when he grabbed her hand.

"Come on, I don't think you sleeping on the couch is gonna help either one of us."

She looked up at him uncertainly, trying to read his dark eyes then nodded, allowing him to lead her upstairs to the darker part of his house.

Just inside the door to his bedroom he dropped her hand, and collapsed on the bed with a heavy sigh. Silently Nancy climbed onto the bed next to him and lay on her back, looking at the ceiling. Rabbit turned over a few moments later, and she saw the scar on his should.

"Chicks think it's sexy," he muttered as she ran her fingers over it gently.

"I think it's…"

"Ugly? Foul? A reminder that I'm alive, and they're not?"

Nancy frowned and pulled his shoulder so he was lying on his back and she was hovering over him.

"Rabbit, that crash was not your fault. There's nothing you could have done. You didn't die, because you weren't supposed to. Rotor and Terry…it was their time." By now tears were leaking out of her eyes, and Rabbit couldn't resist brushing them away.

"But I'm here, and I've been a depressed asshole. And Terry's gone, and you've been all alone," he said quietly, his voice breaking.

"Well I'm not alone now, am I?" she whispered back.

"No…I guess…neither of us are?" Rabbit frowned, then he pulled her down and kissed her softly.

Nancy smiled as she curled up to Rabbit's chest and fell asleep. "No, we're not alone."


	3. Chapter 3

Alright, Chapter 3 already! I think it's even longer than the ones before it. XDDD I dunno, just it doesn't seem the right place to stop until it does. And so here it is! Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimers apply, I don't own anything, though if I did, I wouldn't have let NBC go and ax it.

Please read and review! Thank you!

* * *

"Nnngh…Ow."

"Nancy?"

"I think so."

Rabbit laughed at the response coming from the blond and gripped her hand tighter, breathing easier when she squeezed back.

"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly as he brushed the hair away from her face.

"I'm great Rabbit, I've got what feels like a six to eight inch incision in my abdomen, a killer headache, and my neck feels like it's got a thousand needles in it. I'm just brilliant," she said sarcastically, her grip tightening as she clenched her teeth against the pain that even breathing caused.

"Nance, I need you to open your eyes." Rabbit's voice was serious as he stroked her cheek.

"I don't want to."

Rabbit's heart clenched in fear once more. She may have said she didn't want to open her eyes but they had anyway. He knew it was probably a purely instinctual reaction, but now her eyes were wide open, and staring blankly.

"Nance…"

"Fine fine, I'll open my eyes," she sighed.

"No that's ok, I know your head hurts. Will you be ok if I got get Doc Joe?"

"Yeah I'll be fine Rabbit."

He turned to leave and right before his hand slipped out of hers she tightened her grip. "Hey Rabbit? Thanks."

He just smiled and squeezed her hand, then ran out of the recovery room as fast as he could.

"Doc!" he nearly shouted as soon as he saw the doctor. "She's awake, but she can't see anything."

"Shit."

"She doesn't know, I told her to open her eyes and she said she didn't want to, because her head hurts, but she did anyway, instinct. She also said she has pinprick pains in her neck."

Joe frowned as he paused outside the door. "Sounds like a latent spinal injury. Maybe a bleed putting pressure on something. We need to get her a CT scan right away." He waves a nurse over and told her to go book the room, before he pushed through the recovery room door.

"I'm back Nance," Rabbit said quietly as he sat down next to her.

"Hey. You find Joe?"

"Right here Nancy."

Nancy sighed and closed her eyes, obviously not aware that she was even doing it. "How's it look?"

Joe hesitated for a moment before he spoke. "Nancy, we need to get you a CT scan. It looks like something's pressing on your spinal cord, and impairing you're vision. Probably causing your headache too."

"What? But my vision's fine. I just don't want to open my eyes because I know how bright hospitals are," Nancy laughed. Her eyes had opened again as she spoke.

"Nance, your eyes are open sweetie," Rabbit said quietly.

"What?" Nancy looked around franticly, finally realizing she couldn't see anything.

"It's going to be fine, we just have to get you up to the scan and see what's causing the problem. It's probably just some bruising, or a minor bleed," Joe reassured her.

The nurse who'd been standing behind the Doc came and got the bed ready to roll upstairs, but Nancy wouldn't let go of Rabbit's hand.

"I don't want to be alone."

"I'll be right here Nancy, right here," he promised.

As they wheeled her away, he quietly followed, then headed through the break room and to the lockers. He changed out of his flight suit and into normal clothes, and went back to the nurses desk.

"Is Nancy back from the CT yet?"

"No, they took her into surgery as soon as the images came back," a nurse named Betsy told him quietly.

Rabbit sank into a chair in disbelief. She had to be ok. She just had to. He'd done everything he possibly could to protect her, she had to be ok.

* * *

_"Drop her."_

_"I'm sorry I can't do that. You did what you did, now I have to do what I do."_

_Rabbit walked into the room and his vision narrowed. There was the guy that had shot up the whole building, killing more than ten people already, and he had a gun pointed right at Nancy. Nancy herself was on the floor, cradling a woman to her chest. The woman was bleeding from a chest wound and wasn't going to make it if they didn't treat her soon._

_"Hey!" Rabbit shouted. The gun turned on him and fired, and he was thrown backwards._

_Nancy screamed. More gunshots rang through the room, and the swat team and three more medics appeared._

_"Gunshot to the chest, probably a perforated liver, you need to get her out of here now," Nancy shouted at one of the other Medic's before she handed off the woman and ran across the room. "Rabbit!"_

_"Ugh," Rabbit groaned quietly, then her hands were on him, dragging the flight suit apart at the bullet hole, checking him for wounds. "I'm ok," he coughed. Man that had felt like getting hit with an elephant. "I've got a vest, I'm ok."_

_Once she was sure of that herself, Nancy punched him in the arm. "Don't you ever do that again you son of a bitch!" she yelled. Rabbit blinked._

_"Yes Ma'am," he grunted before he hugged her. "Glad to know you care," he whispered in her ear as he got up and rushed for the fallen shooter. "Don't you die you son of a bitch, that's too easy."_

_Rabbit realized a few minutes later Nancy had been crying, but he brushed it off as a shitty day at work. Later that night at the bar he'd been thinking about it when she'd sat next to him._

_"I'll have what he's having."_

_"You don't want what I'm having."_

_After a few minutes of playful arguing and a couple drinks each she turned to him and smiled._

_"You saved my life today. Thanks." With that she leaned forward and kissed him._

_It only lasted a few seconds, then she was gone, leaving Rabbit to try and figure out why his heart felt like it was on fire, and trying unsuccessfully to drown that fire in the remainder of the bottle of alcohol. He hadn't realized until the next morning that he was completely in love with her._

* * *

"Damnit, what am I gonna do without her?" he asked himself. "I can't lose her."

"C'mon man, get in here. Talk to us, don't think about it," Tyler called from the door of the break room. Rabbit shook his head and Tyler rolled his eyes and came out, dragging Rabbit back into the break room by the arm. "Trust me, it'll help."

"What the hell am I gonna do?" Rabbit said again, his voice and face blank.

"Listen man, she's strong, she'll make it," Boone reassured him.

Rabbit shook his head as he sank onto the couch. "It's all my fault…it's my fault Terry's dead…I wasn't there for her after the crash either…Then this. If I'd still been driving this wouldn't have happened…"

"Man none of that was your fault!" Boone protested.

Rabbit just slumped back on the couch and covered his face with a pillow. Tyler and Boone looked at each other, at a loss for what to do. The needed Marisa, but she was gone.

"I never told her," Rabbit said, muffled significantly by the pillow.

"Told her what?" Tyler asked apprehensively.

"That I love her…"

Now neither of them knew what the hell to do with the distraught chopper medic sitting between them on the rundown couch.


	4. Chapter 4

Here is chapter 4! I know it's been a few days, and this is a little shorter, but I'm finally done with all my tests so I should be good to write for a while. Although I am having trouble typing and am at only about half my speed, so that's really getting on my nerves. But, otherwise, here we go!

Also yay, previews are misleading, Marisa didn't sleep with Rabbit, just someone who from a .5 second shot and a distance looks a hell of a lot like Rabbit. 8D Can't wait for next week's episode!

Disclaimers apply, I don't own anything, though if I did, I wouldn't have let NBC go and ax it.

Please read and review! Thank you!

* * *

Rabbit had finally fallen asleep when Joe came to find him again but he jerked awake as soon as a hand touched his shoulder.

"How is she?" he asked blearily.

"We won't know about her eyes for a few hours but we got the bleed. She's out of recovery and in her own room now, on the third floor. You can go see her, but then I think you should go home. Also she'll probably be discharged in about four days, and she needs someone to stay with. Especially if her visions compromised I don't want her trying to cope alone," Joe said, hoping Rabbit would pick up on his not to subtle hints.

"Yeah, yeah, that's fine, she can stay with me, you could fit more than two of her apartments in my house," Rabbit muttered as he rubbed the sleep out of his face.

Joe nodded and left the room smiling. An hour later when he went to check on Nancy she was awake, and smiling. One hand was entwined with Rabbit's while the other resting on his head. Rabbit was snoring with his head in his arms.

"How're you doing?" Joe whispered.

Nancy smiled and glanced up at him. "I'm good. I can see, and the pain's bearable."

"And what about him?"

"Someone needs to make him go home so he can sleep."

"Speaking of home, when you're discharged, you're not going home."

Nancy frowned. "What?"

Joe nodded at Rabbit. "You'll stay with him. This isn't something you bounce back from in a week. You're off work for the next three months."

"Three months!?"

"Waoh, wha-?"

"Go back to sleep Rabbit," Nancy frowned. "What do you mean I'll be out for three months?"

"Three months. Major surgery, means recovery time. Now, I'll leave you two to discuss your future living arrangements."

"When I get out of this bed Joe! Your ass is mine-AH!" Nancy yelled, trying to sit up and collapsing back in pain.

"You shouldn't do that you know," Rabbit observed.

"Shut up Rabbit," she groaned.

"I love you too sweetheart."

"Ugh, god, and he's making me stay with you for three months?" Nancy glared at him.

Rabbit laughed. "Well, it's voluntary that it's me, but he did say you had to stay with someone. I agree, I mean, c'mon. You and Glenn were in a bad, bad accident. You've had two major surgeries in the last 36 hours."

"Glenn! Ah shit!"

"I told you not to try and sit up. Glenn's fine, he's got a broken arm, and some bruises. Other than that he's just fine."

Nancy sighed in relief. "Thank god." She leaned back on her pillows and closed her eyes again, but when Rabbit tried to get up her hand tightened around his.

"You know I should probably go home and start cleaning up…" he said. "If you're gonna come stay with me. And I can get the stuff from your house. The spare key still in the same place?"

"Yeah…ugh, just think…what comes to nearly domesticated life with Rabbit! How will I ever survive?" Nancy teased, her eyes still closed. She missed Rabbit grinning like a madman.

"Maybe you'll like it more than you think," he whispered by her ear before he kissed her quickly and hightailed it out of her room.

Nancy's eyes had opened in shock, and now she rolled them in exasperation and slumped her head back on the pillow, trying to think around the haze that the hasty kiss had left around her mind.


	5. Chapter 5

**Alright guys, I'm really sorry it took me so long to post this. This is the end of my story, I'm also sorry it's so short. For now at least it's the end. I may add more after the new episodes air, but we'll see. Thank you all for reading and reviewing!**

* * *

"Oh, wow, Rabbit. When you said you cleaned up, you really meant you cleaned up…" Nancy stared around in wonder at the nearly sparkling entrance to Rabbits two story house.

"Well yeah, I mean come on, I can't have you living in my germ infested house with that incision still healing, now can I?"

Nancy laughed, having to clutch her stomach when she did, but never stopped smiling. She looked around the living room, and covered her smile, her eyes locking onto Rabbit's back as he pushed open the door to his 'junk room' and took her back inside. She followed him and saw that the room was completely empty of anything that belonged to him. Instead was a queen sized bed, a nightstand, and a dresser.

On the wall was a flat screen TV, and there were three paintings. Nancy frowned when she recognized them.

"Rabbit, I thought I threw those away years ago…"

Rabbit shrugged as he started unpacking her things and putting them in the dresser. "You did…I raided your dumpster…"

"You raided! RABBIT!" Nancy hit him on the shoulder as she sank onto the bed frowning.

"What? Your paintings are great. There are more upstairs," he shrugged.

"I threw them out for a reason. I didn't cut it as an artist…and it was never enough for my father." Nancy's eyes were sad as she thought of the demands her father had laid on her in college.

"Nancy, look at me," Rabbit said quietly as he knelt in front of her and gently lifted her chin so their eyes met. "Anything you do, as long as it's good enough for you, and only you, is the right thing. If art is what you love, you should do it."

"But I love saving people…just…not as a surgeon. That's all he ever wanted me to be…just like him." Her words were laced with venom, as her eyes began to tear. "And besides, would you still want to be friends with me if I was just an artist? There's nothing interesting about that."

Rabbit frowned, before he rose up a little and kissed her soundly. "Nancy, I will love you no matter who you are, and what you do, and I will love you because of that, forever."

"Really Reuben?" Nancy asked, her voice hitching.

"Really Nancy. Forever."


End file.
